Jiangsu University always encourages its faculty members and postdocs to grab the funding opportunities offered by national and provincial funders. However, it is often a challenging task, especially for young researchers, to get their research proposals on the right track, as well as to receive positive feedback from expert reviewers. In this context, an interactive discussion on techniques and strategies for writing good proposals would be important to improve the relevant knowledge and skills of potential grant applicants. Such a discussion will be equally important and insightful for the researchers to improve their research activities both in terms of quality and outcomes. With this in mind, FBE is going to organize regular seminars to discuss different aspects of research activities, including designing good research projects, applying for external funding, and conducting output-oriented research programs, where faculty members and postdocs will share their experiences on a common platform.
In the first seminar to be held on 19th October 2022, two faculty members of FBE (Prof. Hossain M. Zabed and Dr. Dhanasekaran Solairaj) will present their research activities and experience in writing project proposals based on their success stories in NSFC and other grant applications. The speakers will address the following perspectives in their presentations:
· Introducing their research fields with relevant outcomes and significance.
· Possible grant application openings for foreign researchers in China.
· How to select a timely and attractive research topic?
· What would be the content of a proposal and how to arrange it?
· How to prepare and justify the budget for the proposed research?
Date and time: 19th October 2022 2:00-4:00pm…
Venue: 302Meeting Room，FBE
Short biographies of the speakers
Prof. Hossain M. Zabed is currently working as a Professor at the School of Food & Biological Engineering. He received his PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Malaya, Malaysia (QS World Ranking #70). His main research area is synthetic biology-mediated conversion of waste and biomass into fuels and commodity chemicals. In this context, he works on biocatalysis, metabolic engineering, protein engineering, pathway construction and optimization, fermentation technology, bioprocess engineering, and bioprocess optimization. During his tenure at JSU, he received “International Young Scientist Research Grant” from NSFC, “Doctor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship award of Jiangsu Province”, “Special and General Postdoctoral Research Grants” from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, and “Foreign Expert research Program” from the Ministry of Science & Technology of China. He served as a guest editor and an editorial member of several international journals. He has professional membership with the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), National Young Academy of Bangladesh, International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA), and Microbiology Society. He is interested in research collaborations to work on the existing challenges in synthetic biology for sustainable bioproduction of commodity chemicals, natural products, and bioactive materials in the context of increasing demand for green manufacturing from national and global communities.
Dr. Dhanasekaran Solairaj is currently working as an Associate Professor at the School of Food and Biological Engineering. He received his PhD in Biotechnology from Alagappa University, India. His research interest is postharvest protection of fruits from fungal infections using antagonistic yeasts. Specifically, he works on (1) identification of potential postharvest fungal pathogens and their pathogenesis during storage, (2) prevention or protection of the postharvest fruits from fungal infections using antagonistic yeasts, and (3) securing fruits from mycotoxin contamination through biological control strategies. In the aspect of biological control, his research is concentrated on different biocontrol mechanisms of antagonistic yeasts at the molecular level, and various strategies employed to improve the biocontrol efficiency of antagonistic yeasts. To this extent, my NSFC-funded project utilized trehalose as a media supplement to enhance the biocontrol efficiency of an antagonistic yeast against grape pathogens. His long-term research goals are to support the diversification, improved sustainability, and profitability of agriculture through our biocontrol yeasts.
（School of Food and Biological Engineering）
